Roland Hugh B, Kohlhoff Jacob, Lanphier Kari, Hoysala Sneha, Kennedy Esther G, Harley John, Whitehead Christopher, Gribble Matthew O
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham AL USA.
Sitka Tribe of Alaska Sitka AK USA.
Geohealth. 2024 Mar 7;8(3):e2023GH000988. doi: 10.1029/2023GH000988. eCollection 2024 Mar.
Shellfish harvesting is central to coastal Alaska Native ways of life, and tribes in Southeast Alaska are committed to preserving sustainable and safe access to subsistence foods. However, consumption of non-commercially harvested shellfish puts Alaska Native communities at elevated risk of exposure to shellfish toxins. To address a lack of state or federal toxin testing for subsistence and recreational harvesting, tribes across Southeast Alaska have formed their own toxin testing and ocean monitoring program. In this study, we interviewed environmental managers responsible for tribes' testing and others with shellfish toxin expertise to report on perceptions of barriers to tribally led testing in Southeast Alaska. Tribal staff identified 40 prospective key informants to interview, including all environmental managers responsible for shellfish toxin testing at subsistence sites in Southeast Alaska. All 40 individuals were invited to participate in an interview and 27 individuals were interviewed. The most frequently discussed barriers to shellfish toxin testing in Southeast Alaska relate to logistical and staffing difficulties associated with communities' remote locations, inconsistent and inadequate funding and funding structures that increase staff burdens, risk communication challenges related to conveying exposure risks while supporting subsistence harvesting, and implications of climate change-related shifts in toxin exposures for risk perception and risk communication. Participants stressed the social origins of perceived barriers. Disinvestment may create and sustain barriers and be most severely felt in Native communities and remote places. Climate change impacts may interact with social and cultural factors to further complicate risk management.
贝类捕捞是阿拉斯加沿海原住民生活方式的核心，阿拉斯加东南部的部落致力于维护对自给性食物的可持续和安全获取途径。然而，食用非商业捕捞的贝类使阿拉斯加原住民社区面临更高的贝类毒素暴露风险。为解决州或联邦层面缺乏对自给性和娱乐性捕捞进行毒素检测的问题，阿拉斯加东南部的部落组建了自己的毒素检测和海洋监测项目。在本研究中，我们采访了负责部落检测的环境管理人员以及其他具有贝类毒素专业知识的人员，以报告对阿拉斯加东南部部落主导检测的障碍的看法。部落工作人员确定了40名潜在的关键信息提供者进行采访，包括阿拉斯加东南部自给性捕捞地点所有负责贝类毒素检测的环境管理人员。邀请了所有40人参与采访，其中27人接受了采访。阿拉斯加东南部贝类毒素检测中最常被讨论的障碍涉及与社区偏远位置相关的后勤和人员配备困难、资金不一致且不足以及增加工作人员负担的资金结构、在支持自给性捕捞的同时传达暴露风险方面的风险沟通挑战，以及与气候变化相关的毒素暴露变化对风险认知和风险沟通的影响。参与者强调了所感知障碍的社会根源。投资减少可能会造成并维持障碍，而在原住民社区和偏远地区感受最为严重。气候变化影响可能与社会和文化因素相互作用，使风险管理更加复杂。
